


Actually, it's a Compliment

by Dem0nLight



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bittybones, Boss doesn't like being called Batman, Fluff, Gen, Gouchy Bitty, I just wanted to write some cuteness into the world, Reader's gender is not defined, SO MUCH FLUFF, Self-Indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-08 04:44:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7743853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dem0nLight/pseuds/Dem0nLight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Boss is your only Bitty and he's a bit of a handful at times. He even set up rules for how you were supposed to treat him when you first adopted him! After taking care of him for several months, though, he's loosened up some. But there is one rule that he still refuses to give any ground on: you are to never EVER allowed to call him Batman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Actually, it's a Compliment

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little thing that's been floating in my head ever since I learned about the Bittybones AU and how Boss is occasionally nicknamed "Batman". Not really meant to be serious, just some self-indulgent fluff.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

When you had adopted Boss, you had been expecting him to be a difficult Bitty to get along with at first and you had been right: from day one, he had been living up to his name and  _bossing_ you around (he also did not appreciate your fairly clever pun about it in the slightest—he had pushed a lamp onto the tile floor of your apartment in retribution. Of course the joke was on him—you hated that lamp—but you had pretended to be upset so he would cease holding a grudge about the pun.) When he had first moved in, he had immediately grabbed a pen after surveying your apartment and had written a list of rules that went something like this:

1) You are not to pick me up without my express command to do so

2) You will allow me full access to your kitchen

3) You will not make plans without my consent

And so on. You had tolerated the rules for the first several weeks and always made sure to affirm that you recognized Boss as an equal sentient being who had control over most of your shared living space. After he let you get away with many infractions, you knew that he was beginning to return the respect you gave to him and before long you were thick as thieves. The rule sheet was discarded not long afterwards, but both of you knew that one of the original rules was still in full effect.

Under no conditions are you permitted to refer to me as BATMAN.

You had asked him about it once and he had reluctantly told you how the other Bitties at the adoption center—particularly those who had been returned for not being a good fit—had insistently teased him with that name. Having never been outside of the center himself, he had no idea what they were referencing when they called him that and was too embarrassed at the thought of having to ask about it. He had grown to hate that name with a fervent passion and under no circumstances liked to hear you utter it, even if it was out of context (He'd torn up your favorite Batman hoodie just because of the name association and it had taken you two weeks to fully forgive him).

You understood why he felt the way he did about that name and it bothered you that he would take that name which was supposed to be a positive thing as the most egregious insult. So you decided to do something about it.

You had movie nights with Boss about once a week, provided it wasn't too late so you could get up for work in the morning. This movie night, you had decided to bust out a classic example of an epic superhero action movie. 

"What did you say this was called again?" Boss inquired, perching on your shoulder where he could get a better vantage point on the screen.

"The Dark Knight," you replied with a sly grin.

It took less than twenty minutes before your bitty realized what you were up to.

"You're mocking me, aren't you?" he asked sharply as Harvey Dent was talking onscreen, defending Batman. "You  _knew_ this film had a character named...named  _that name_ and you still had the nerve to put it on!"

"I hoped it would help you with that," you admitted.

"How?! By shoving that name in my face a hundred times before the film's half over?! Hoping exposure will make me less sensitive to hearing it?! This is revenge for the hoodie, isn't it?!"

With a sigh, you paused the movie and scooped Boss into your hand so he could look you in the eye. He stubbornly refused, glaring off to the side, tiny arms folded with a scowl set on his skull. 

"Boss," you said earnestly, "have you been paying attention to the movie at all? Have you seen who Batman is? He's amazing! He's the savior of Gotham, its protector!"

"You know I take that name as an insult!" Boss shouted.

"But what if it never was an insult?" you asked. "What if they meant it as a compliment? He  _is_ a pretty amazing superhero after all. And you are so much like him. A little gruff and dark, but you hold people around you to a higher standard and help them achieve those standards. And you want to protect me from people who could hurt me, just like Batman protects the innocent."

"You didn't hear them," Boss protested weakly. "They wouldn't stop."

"Well, maybe _they_ might have been teasing you, but I would never use that name as anything less than a compliment of the highest order. You're my little dark knight, and I love you."

Your bitty was quiet before he gruffly suggested you start the movie up again. You put him back on your shoulder and un-paused it, relaxing back into the cushions behind you. As the movie played out, you noticed Boss snuggled up against your neck, the top of his skull brushing just under your jaw. It was his favorite place to rest, right where he could feel your pulse, and he only dared sit there when he was completely relaxed. You hummed out a faint chuckle.

"Love you, my dark knight," you whispered.

"Hmph," he huffed, a blush on his cheekbones. When the movie eventually came to a close, he sighed. "I suppose if  _you_ called me Batman, it wouldn't be too terrible...but only while we're in private, understand?

"Perfectly."


End file.
